How To Go Electric…

Smaller EVs, battery-as-service model for cars. Govt campaign for e-cooking

India uses a huge amount of petrol, diesel and cooking gas every month. Most of it is imported from other countries. But what if we could replace some of that fuel with electricity instead? That would help India spend less money on oil imports and also reduce pollution.

Take cars, for example. Last year, India sold about 4.7 million cars, but only a small number were electric cars, or EVs. In China, more than half the cars sold were electric. India does not need to copy China exactly. But because we are starting from a small number, we could still increase EV sales quite quickly in the next few years. If more people use EVs, India will need less imported oil.

So why aren’t more people buying EVs already? There are three big problems. First, EVs are usually more expensive than normal petrol or diesel cars. Second, many people worry that the battery may run out during a trip. This is called “range anxiety”. Third, there are not enough public charging stations, and many people living in apartment buildings cannot easily install chargers at home.

This creates a problem. People do not want to buy EVs unless charging stations are easy to find. But companies do not want to build more charging stations until more people buy EVs. That is why the government needs to step in and set clear targets for EV sales every year.

One way to make EVs cheaper is to use smaller batteries. Batteries make up a large part of an EV’s cost. Smaller batteries mean shorter driving range, but that becomes less of a problem if charging stations are easy to find. Another idea is called Battery-as-a-Service, or BaaS. In this system, people buy the car but pay a monthly fee to use the battery. This lowers the price of the car. Right now, though, India taxes BaaS more heavily than EVs themselves, and that should change.

Experts at NITI Aayog say India should first focus on big cities. That makes sense because cities need cleaner air badly, and more EVs would help reduce pollution.

Electric cooking is another area where electricity can replace fuel. Devices like induction stoves and microwave ovens waste less energy than gas stoves. They also do not create smoke inside homes. Switching to electric cooking could save money and improve health. But many people are used to cooking with gas, so the government may need to encourage electric cooking through advertisements, discounts and public campaigns. Reliable electricity supply will also be very important.